“Prior to Melancholy, I had a whole album written, done,” Tesfaye said. “Which wasn’t melancholy at all because it was a different time in my life.” He described the project as "very upbeat" and "beautiful," but says he'll "never" release the music because it no longer feels like something he wants to express: "I don’t want to perform something that I don’t feel,” he told Time, adding that creating My Dear Melancholy, was "therapeutic".